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DarrenRichards
Known Participant
February 5, 2026
Answered

The new Clarity and dehaze adjustment misbehaves with 16-bit images

  • February 5, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 95 views

When I open a 16-bit ProPhoto RGB image in Photoshop and add a Clarity and dehaze adjustment layer the Dehaze function wildly over processes the image in comparison to what Dehaze would do in Camera Raw (as a Filter) or what it would do back in Lightroom with the same image.

 

Converting the image to 8-bit in Photoshop and then adjusting Dehaze gives the behavior I would expect.

 

** Science bit

OS: macOS 15.7.3 (24G419)

Mac: Apple M1 Max based Mac Studio (2022)

Photoshop: 27.3 and 27.3.1

Lightroom Classic : 15.1.1  

 

** Screenshots

Here is the image in Photoshop prior to any edits (just LRC processing and then Edit In Phoshop…)

 

I now add a new Clarity and Dehaze adjustment layer with default settings (everything is fine)

 

Next I set the Dehaze to +3 (a subtle amount when applied in LRC or ACR) and the image has been significantly over-processed

 

If I remove that adjustment layer and make the same +3 Dehaze move using Filter -> Camera Raw Filter, I see what I would expect

 

 

Thanks. Darren.

      Correct answer AxelMatt

      I’ve check this on my machine and it work as it should. I see no difference between the same dehaze settings in Camera RAW and the dehaze adjustment layer in Photoshop.

      Image without any changes:

       

      Adding  dehaze and clarity adjustment layer and set dehaze to +20

       

      The same setting in Camera RAW

       

      The screenshot are from Photoshop 27.3.1 (German version) on Windows 11 25H2. It’s already a 16-bit ProPhoto RGB image.

       

      Please provide a copy of your 'System Info'. This can be get from the Photoshop menu item Help > System Info. There's a copy button in the System Info dialog. Press this button and paste the info into your next forum post.

       

      Try also reset the preferences of Photoshop::

      https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/get-started/settings-and-preferences/reset-preferences.html

      It's recommended to backup your settings before resetting the preferences.

      See here:  https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/get-started/settings-and-preferences/backup-and-restore-preferences.html

       

      5 replies

      D Fosse
      Community Expert
      D FosseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 7, 2026

      ​@DarrenRichards 

      Yes, resetting preferences is always the first thing to try.

       

      Preferences are vulnerable to corruption because they are rewritten on every application shutdown. An irregular shutdown can corrupt them. Small errors accumulate.

       

      The preferences file contains the full application configuration, including lots of hidden and system-dependent parameters. Corrupt preferences usually look like application bugs and are frequently mistaken for that.

        D
        DarrenRichardsAuthor
        Known Participant
        February 7, 2026

        Thanks everyone I really appreciate you all looking at this!

         

        I reset my preferences and the Dehaze worked perfectly (thanks for the links regarding that). I wasn’t able to identify what exactly in my preferences was upsetting things. So I remain thankful but puzzled :-)

        p.s. ACR looks very cool in German! 

        E
        ExUSA
        Genius
        February 5, 2026

        I switched from ProPhoto RGB to Adobe RGB a while back, and I always work in 16 bit. Not seeing this issue in limited use so far, although my workflow has changed and I’m still testing.

        I typically have duplicated my base layer, applied Clarity and Texture via Camera RAW filter, then dropped the fill (and sometimes changed to Darken blending mode) to add shadow contrast to taste. The new Clarity layer may or may not be a good substitute.

          D Fosse
          Community Expert
          D FosseCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          February 5, 2026

          Just to confirm what ​@AxelMatt says. Not seeing this behavior here, on 16 bit ProPhoto files.

           

            AxelMatt
            Community Expert
            AxelMattCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
            Community Expert
            February 5, 2026

            I’ve check this on my machine and it work as it should. I see no difference between the same dehaze settings in Camera RAW and the dehaze adjustment layer in Photoshop.

            Image without any changes:

             

            Adding  dehaze and clarity adjustment layer and set dehaze to +20

             

            The same setting in Camera RAW

             

            The screenshot are from Photoshop 27.3.1 (German version) on Windows 11 25H2. It’s already a 16-bit ProPhoto RGB image.

             

            Please provide a copy of your 'System Info'. This can be get from the Photoshop menu item Help > System Info. There's a copy button in the System Info dialog. Press this button and paste the info into your next forum post.

             

            Try also reset the preferences of Photoshop::

            https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/get-started/settings-and-preferences/reset-preferences.html

            It's recommended to backup your settings before resetting the preferences.

            See here:  https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/get-started/settings-and-preferences/backup-and-restore-preferences.html

             

            My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 8 - PureRAW 5 - Topaz Photo
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